About this site.

I live in Hunterdon County. Our 180-year-old newspaper stopped printing last year, and the question I kept watching neighbors ask each other in Facebook groups and on Nextdoor was the same one: "Can anyone recommend a..." — a roofer, a paver, a septic guy, a plumber. The answers were eleven names, no facts, and every so often a horror story from someone who picked wrong.

So this site does the part nobody had time to do: it pulls the actual records. Every company listed here gets its registration checked against the state's own registries, with the date printed next to the status. Review scores are reported with their sources named. The companies we'd call first are picked on the checkable record and we say why, including the weak spots.

Who's behind it

The Hunterdon Scoop, the county's free Thursday-morning email newsletter, written by Steve, who lives here. The newsletter checks one contractor's license every week as a running public service; this site is where all of that homework accumulates and stays current.

How it pays for itself

Eventually: sponsorships and enhanced listings, always labeled where they appear. What money can never do here is change a fact, a table, or a pick — that rule is written down in the methodology and it's the whole reason this site is worth anything.

Talk to us

Corrections, additions, or a business that wants its listing fixed: corrections@hunterdonscoop.com. We correct verified errors within 48 hours.